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Lessons in creative writing from a ghostly array of great novelists, poets and playwrights such as Ted Hughes, W.B. Yeats and Allen Ginsberg. Presented by Cathy FitzGerald.
“You’re in the middle of writing something and your mind goes blank… ok, you’re being warned, aren’t you?” Discover Ray Bradbury’s simple tr...
Contemporary novelist Caryl Phillips close reads a dramatic passage from ‘Another Country’ by James Baldwin to see what we can learn from th...
If you’re going to put your work out in the world, then sooner or later, someone’s going to take a pop at it. This lesson features tips on h...
“Easy reading is damned hard writing,” says Maya Angelou. Hear the many pains she takes to ‘sharpen her language’ in this lesson about revis...
Hear how Graham Greene gradually evolves a character – and a novel - on a research trip to a leper colony in the Congo.
Sometimes the world gives writers a location so atmospheric it’s just waiting for a back story. But how do we do it justice? Poet Ted Hughes...
How often do you get the chance to attend a lecture by one of the Beats? An extraordinary opportunity to spend time with poet Allen Ginsberg...
If you want to write good dialogue, you need good ears. Listen to all the little idiosyncrasies of an individual voice: the cadences, elisio...
Waiting for the muse to strike? Give it up and get writing. Here are five creation stories from the archives to inspire you, from novelists...
In praise of day-dreaming, holidays and playing hookey: this lesson exalts the importance of time off. Go to the pub with W.B. Yeats, flit t...
The subconscious mind can be the writer’s greatest helper – or nastiest foe. This lesson considers ways to access its mysterious depths, wit...
Yes, we need talent – but we also need discipline. In other words: keep your ass in the chair. With tips from Daphne du Maurier, Graham Gree...
Show don’t tell. Well, no, actually – show AND tell. This lesson explores different ways of presenting a scene, with tips from the Yiddish w...
To plot or not to plot – that’s the question. Some writers plan in advance; others set out without a map and see where they wind up. Featuri...
How nosy are you about your protagonist? Do you know what she eats for breakfast? Likes to dance to? How she parts her hair? A lesson about...
How do we recognise a dancing, hell-raising word from one that just wants a quiet life flat on the page? Poet Ted Hughes helps us recognise...
How do we find a voice? Figure out what’s ours – and only ours – to say? Tips from Neil Gaiman and Invisible College favourite, Ray Bradbury...
If you want to write – read. Marinate your mind in the sentence and the word. With Susan Sontag on the book-drunken life; Ralph Ellison on t...